Under the Friday night lights in New Jersey, the Oregon Ducks walked away with a win over Rutgers — but both head coaches left focused less on the scoreboard and more on what their teams revealed about themselves.
“It was a beautiful night for football,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said. “Everyone here has been fantastic, very hospitable. It’s been a good experience. I came here once before as a GA and we didn’t win, so it’s nice to come back and be able to get one. Rutgers is one of those teams where maybe they’re better than what represents.”
Lanning’s respect for Rutgers was evident throughout his remarks. He praised Greg Schiano’s team for their toughness and structure, emphasizing that Oregon’s success came down to execution in key moments.
“I think Rutgers is an extremely well-coached team,” Lanning said. “There’s a lot of things that their team does that’s really challenging. We had to win some battles to have success tonight — and we were able to do that.”
He credited his players for handling tough one-on-one matchups and adapting when the game demanded it.
“They put you in a lot of tough situations in all phases,” Lanning continued. “They make it hard on you. And I thought they had some good answers too for some things that we did. We were just able to out-execute tonight.”
While Lanning lauded Rutgers’ fight, Greg Schiano took a more grounded tone in his postgame press conference. After hearing the Oregon coach’s compliments, Schiano was quick to reinforce his philosophy about results.
“Well, you know, I’m a believer you are what your record says you are,” Schiano said. “You can have whatever feelings and thoughts you want, but they’re theories. That’s why you have a scoreboard and that’s why you have a record. So right now we’re a three and four football team.”
For Schiano, each week represents a new opportunity to compete and improve. The “Oregon season” may have ended in a loss, but he made it clear that his team is moving forward.
“Right now we’re 0–1. We put everything we had into the Oregon season,” Schiano said. “But tomorrow we’ll review it and then we got to flush it, because now we’re on to the Purdue season. This is a different season, and we’re going to go after it this week.”
Schiano also emphasized accountability — both for players and coaches.
“Only those that show me that’s truly what they’re doing will get the chance to coach or play,” he said. “But it starts looking at me, because I’m the leader and I didn’t get it done tonight.”
For Oregon, the victory highlighted the team’s ability to adjust and execute under pressure. For Rutgers, it underscored the need for consistency and resilience in the face of adversity.
Both programs left the field with takeaways that go beyond the box score — lessons about toughness, focus, and leadership that define football at its core.
As Lanning put it, the night was about more than just the win. It was about rising to challenges and finding ways to respond — something both teams, in their own ways, continue to pursue.
A better brand, built by Vaughn & Co. ©
